Page 88 of After All This Time

And I'msofucking done waiting for her.

Chapter 35

Amelia

I'm not going to pretend I haven't spent the last twenty minutes ignoring everyone who's tried to talk to me. At this point, it's all white noise, and all I care about is why Tobias hasn't come back to the party yet.

Which is why I'm completely checked out while Penelope James—fresh widow, fresh Botox, and fresh off inheriting enough money to buy a small country—drones on about her late husband's tragic demise. Something about hersweet Geralddropping dead on a cruise ship. Heart attack? Shark attack? Man overboard? Who knows? I stopped listening somewhere between her first fake sniffle and her third dramatic pause.

"I thought I saw your brother here earlier."

I really wish people wouldn't call him that.

You literally just introduced him to Bryce as that, dickhead.

"He's around," I reply, keeping my tone even while my fingers tighten slightly around the delicate stem of my champagne glass. Apparently, I'm not the only one keeping tabs on Tobias tonight.

"Is he seeing anyone? I ask every year, you know, since he turned eighteen, and he always says no."

Cougar or predator, I'm not even sure at this point. All I know is that the way she speaks about him, as if she's circling her prey, is enough to make my skin itch.

Something suddenly pulls me, an invisible thread coiled so tightly around my core that resistance isn't even an option. My eyes lift, instantly drawing me to him before I fully realize what's happening. Tobias is striding toward me, hands shoved casually into his pockets, but there's nothing casual about the way he looks at me.

He doesn't pause, doesn't glance at anyone else, and it's like the room around us has faded into static. It's just him and that unrelenting gaze, zeroed in on me as if I'm the only person here.

Every stride eats up the distance between us, the tailored suit he hates clinging to him in a way that makes it impossible not to notice the strength in his shoulders. Tobias isn't just walking—he's stalking, and it's impossible to look away.

Penelope's eyes move past me, catching sight of him, and the transformation is instant. Her spine snaps straight, and her head tilts as if she's just locked onto her next target.

And just like that, I vanish. I'm no longer any part of her world.

A petty, possessive part of me wants to grab her by that overly lacquered hair and remind her exactly whose space he's walking into. But the other part knows Tobias doesn't need me to do a damn thing. He's more than capable of shutting her down himself, and judging by the way his eyes are focused on me, it's crystal clear where he's headed.

He stops just a breath away, his eyes burning through me, scorching me from the inside out. He doesn't spare Penelope so much as a glance—it's all me.

"Tobias, darling, we were just talking about you."

"That's great, Penelope," Tobias says, his tone so dismissive it's clear that, right now, Penelope doesn't matter. She doesn't even exist. "Amelia, I need to talk to you."

"Can it wait?" I ask because this dangerous, messy, untouched thing between us is no longer simmering—it's boiling over, and we both know it.

"Join us, Tobias. I was just asking—"

"No, it can't wait," he snaps, cutting her off so sharply it practically echoes.

Whatever this is, it's happening now, and he's not stopping it.

"Why don't you go get Tobias a drink, Amelia? He looks like he might need one," Penelope says, her tone saccharine as she lets her fingers trail down his arm like she has any right to touch him.

Is she for real right now?

Tobias doesn't give me time to figure it out. He takes a deliberate step back, his jaw tightening as his voice drops. "Penelope, I'm trying really hard not to be rude here. But this is never going to happen, so take your hand off me."

Penelope's mouth falls open, shock etched on her face as if she can't comprehend that she's just been turned down.

Tobias's eyes soften just a fraction, but his tone remains firm. "Amelia… now, please."

I don’t argue. I step past Penelope, out into the foyer, not bothering to spare her even a quick glance. My heels click against the marble floor as I walk, the noise of the party fading behind me with every step.

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